Sound control underlayment and floor construction incorporating the same

ABSTRACT

A sound control underlayment having opposed major unfinished floor and floor covering contact surfaces for disposition between an unfinished floor surface and a floor covering comprises a resilient layer and an adhesive layer on at least one major surface of the resilient layer.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application No. 62/402,657 filed on Sep. 30, 2016 entitled “Sound Control Underlayment and Floor Construction Incorporating the Same” to Downey et al., the entire contents of which are incorporated herein by reference.

FIELD

The subject application relates generally to vibration and noise control and in particular, to a sound control underlayment and a floor construction incorporating the same.

BACKGROUND

Insulating building structures to inhibit the transmission of vibration and noise from one region to another is common in many environments. For example, vibration dampening pads, tiles and mats for use on floors to inhibit vibration/noise from traveling through floor surfaces are known.

Floor constructions employing a rubber underlayment interposed between a concrete slab or wood subfloor and a finished floor covering such as a tile, stone, wood and vinyl floor covering are also known. During such an installation, depending on whether the floor construction comprises a concrete slab or wood subfloor, either an adhesive or thinset mortar layer is applied to the upper surface of the concrete slab or wood subfloor and the rubber underlayment is laid over the concrete slab or wood subfloor. Once the adhesive or thinset mortar layer has cured, depending on the finished floor covering to be laid over the rubber underlayment, either an adhesive or thinset mortar layer is applied to the upper surface of the rubber underlayment and the finished floor covering is then applied to the upper surface of the rubber underlayment. Although the resulting floor construction yields good vibration/noise dampening characteristics, installation times can be significant due to the need to wait for the adhesive and/or thinset mortar layers to cure. As will be appreciated, improvements in floor construction designs are desired.

It is therefore an object to provide a novel sound control underlayment and a floor structure incorporating the same.

SUMMARY

Accordingly, in one aspect there is provided a sound control underlayment for disposition between an unfinished floor surface and a floor covering comprising a generally flat layer formed of resilient material and an adhesive layer on at least one major surface of the flat layer.

Other aspects of a sound control underlayment for disposition between an unfinished floor surface and a floor covering are provided. For example, the sound control underlayment of paragraph [0005], wherein the adhesive layer is a pressure sensitive adhesive layer.

The sound control underlayment of paragraph [0005] or [0006], wherein the resilient material is rubber material.

The sound control underlayment of paragraph [0007], wherein the rubber material comprises recycled rubber content.

The sound control underlayment of any one of paragraphs [0005] to [0008], having a thickness in the range of 1 mm to 25 mm.

The sound control underlayment of any one of paragraphs [0005] to [0009], having an average dynamic stiffness in the range of 10 MN/m³ to 200 MN/m³.

According to another aspect there is provided a floor construction comprising a subfloor having an upper unfinished floor surface; a floor covering having an upper finished floor surface; and a sound control underlayment interposed between the subfloor and the floor covering, the sound control underlayment comprising a generally flat layer formed of resilient material and an adhesive layer on at least one major surface of the resilient layer.

The floor construction of paragraph [0011], wherein the sound control underlayment is in accordance with any one of paragraphs [0006] to [0010].

The floor construction of paragraph [0011] or [0012], wherein the adhesive layer is in contact with the unfinished floor surface.

The floor construction of paragraph [0011] or [0012], wherein the adhesive layer is in contact with the floor covering.

The floor construction of paragraph [0011] or [0012], wherein the adhesive layer is on opposed major surfaces of the resilient layer and the adhesive layers are in contact with both the unfinished floor surface and the floor covering.

The floor construction of any one of paragraphs [0011] to [0015], wherein the subfloor is one of a concrete slab, a wood subfloor and an oriented strand board subfloor.

The floor construction of any one of paragraphs [0011] to [0016], wherein the floor covering is one of a ceramic tile floor covering, a vinyl plank, tile or sheet floor covering, a stone floor covering, an engineered wood floor covering, a laminate floor covering and a wood floor covering.

According to another aspect there is provided a sound control underlayment having opposed major unfinished floor and floor covering contact surfaces for disposition between an unfinished floor surface and a floor covering, the sound control underlayment comprising a resilient layer and an adhesive layer on at least one major surface of the resilient layer.

The sound control underlayment of paragraph [0018], wherein the adhesive layer is a pressure sensitive adhesive layer.

The sound control underlayment of paragraph [0018] or [0019], wherein the resilient layer is formed of rubber material.

The sound control underlayment of paragraph [0020], wherein the rubber material comprises recycled rubber content.

The sound control underlayment of any one of paragraphs [0018] to [0021], having a thickness in the range of 1 mm to 25 mm.

The sound control underlayment of any one of paragraphs [0018] to [0022], having an average dynamic stiffness in the range of 10 MN/m³ to 200 MN/m³.

According to another aspect there is provided a floor construction comprising a subfloor having an upper unfinished floor surface; a floor covering having an upper finished floor surface; and the sound control underlayment of any one of paragraphs [0018] to [0023] interposed between the subfloor and the floor covering.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Embodiments will now be described more fully with reference to the accompanying drawings in which:

FIG. 1 is a side elevational view of a floor construction;

FIG. 2 is a side elevational view of another floor construction; and

FIG. 3 is a side elevational view of yet another floor construction.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS

The foregoing summary, as well as the following detailed description of certain examples will be better understood when read in conjunction with the appended drawings. As used herein, an element or feature introduced in the singular and preceded by the word “a” or “an” should be understood as not necessarily excluding the plural of the elements or features. Further, references to “one example” or “one embodiment” are not intended to be interpreted as excluding the existence of additional examples or embodiments that also incorporate the described elements or features. Moreover, unless explicitly stated to the contrary, examples or embodiments “comprising” or “having” or “including” an element or feature or a plurality of elements or features having a particular property may include additional elements or features not having that property. Also, it will be appreciated that the terms “comprises”, “has”, “includes” means “including by not limited to” and the terms “comprising”, “having” and “including” have equivalent meanings. It will also be appreciated that like reference characters will be used to refer to like elements throughout the description and drawings.

In the following, various embodiments of a floor construction are shown and described that employ a sound control underlayment interposed between an underlying unfinished floor surface and a floor covering. The sound control underlayment is designed to inhibit or prevent the transmission of sound/vibration/noise (hereinafter referred to as “sound” for convenience only) through the floor surface. Broadly, the sound control underlayment comprises a generally flat or planar layer of resilient material having good vibration deflection characteristics and an adhesive layer on at least one major surface of the resilient material layer. Particular non-limiting examples of floor constructions employing sound control underlayments will now be described.

Turning now to FIG. 1, a floor construction is shown and is generally identified by reference numeral 10. As can be seen, in this embodiment the floor construction comprises a subfloor in the form of a concrete slab 12 having an upper unfinished floor surface 14. A sound control underlayment 16 overlies the upper unfinished floor surface 14. A floor covering 18 overlies the sound control underlayment 16 and has an upper surface defining the finished floor surface 20 of the floor construction 10.

The sound control underlayment 16 comprises a layer 30 of resilient material. The resilient material is formed rubber material or other suitable material such as for example natural rubber, styrene-butadiene rubber (SBR), recycled rubber etc. In this embodiment, the resilient material is formed of rubber material having 94% recycled rubber content. An adhesive layer 32 is laminated or otherwise applied onto one major surface of the resilient layer 30. In this embodiment, the adhesive layer 32 is a pressure-sensitive adhesive layer.

The pressure sensitive adhesive layer 32 in this embodiment comprises an emulsion based acrylic double coated nonwoven tape that is laminated to the one major surface of the resilient layer 30. Those of skill in the art will however appreciate that other adhesives can be used. For example, if the sound control underlayment 16 is to be used in damp or wet areas such as bathrooms and kitchens, waterproof adhesives may be employed.

The adhesive layer 32 is in direct contact with the upper unfinished floor surface 14 of the concrete slab 12 providing a quick and secure bond between the concrete slab 12 and the sound control underlayment 16. The sound control underlayment 16 has a thickness of 2.0 mm ( 5/64″) and is mold, bacteria, fungi and water resistant.

In this embodiment, the floor covering 18 is a tile (ceramic, stone etc.) floor with the tiles 40 of the floor covering being secured to the upper surface of the sound control underlayment 16 via a thinset mortar layer 42.

During manufacture of the sound control underlayment 16, the adhesive layer 32 is pre-adhered to a backing or release layer (not shown) and the adhesive layer 32 and resilient layer 30 are fed to a laminating machine, which applies the adhesive layer 32 to the resilient layer 30. The sound control underlayment 16 is then rolled into a master roll. Sub-rolls of the sound control underlayment 16 are then cut from the master roll. The sub-rolls of sound control underlayment 16 when unrolled have a length of 10 m (33 ft) and a width of 1.50 m (59 in). Those of skill in the art will appreciate that the sound control underlayment may be formed into rolls of different dimensions.

During installation, as the sound control underlayment 16 is unrolled onto the unfinished floor surface 14, the backing or release layer is peeled from the adhesive layer 32 thereby to expose the adhesive layer 32 and allowing it to be brought into direct contact with the unfinished floor surface 14. As a result, the sound control underlayment 16 can be easily and quickly installed. Depending on the floor covering to be laid on the sound control underlayment 16, adhesive or thinset mortar is then applied on the upper surface of the sound control underlayment 16 and the floor covering is laid on the sound control underlayment without delay to complete the floor construction 10.

Although the sound control underlayment 16 is described and shown as overlying a concrete slab 12, those of skill in the art will appreciate that the sound control underlayment 16 can be applied to other subfloor constructions. For example, the sound control underlayment 16 can be applied and adhered to subfloors formed of plywood or other wood, oriented strand board (OSB) or other structural material.

Also, although the floor construction 10 is described as comprising a tile floor, those of skill in the art will appreciate that other floor coverings such as vinyl, (plank, tile, sheet, etc.) wood, stone, engineered wood, and laminate floor coverings may be applied to the upper surface of the sound control underlayment 16 via adhesive, thinset mortar or other suitable bonding agent.

For example, FIG. 2 shows another floor construction generally identified by reference numeral 110. In this embodiment, the floor construction 110 comprises a wood subfloor 112 supported by joists J and having an upper unfinished floor surface 114. The sound control underlayment 16 overlies the upper unfinished floor surface 114 with its adhesive layer 32 in direct contact with the upper unfinished floor surface 114. The floor covering 18 overlies the sound control underlayment 16 and has an upper surface defining the finished floor surface 20 of the floor construction 110. In this embodiment, the floor covering 18 is a vinyl sheet 140 that is secured to the upper surface of the sound control underlayment 16 via an adhesive layer 142.

As will be appreciated, the above floor constructions provide benefits or advantages. The provision of the sound control underlayment 16 reduces transmission of impact sound and vibration through the floor constructions as compared to conventional floor constructions. The adhesive layer 32 of the sound control underlayment 16 allows the sound control underlayment to be installed quickly on the unfinished floor surface. Once installed, the floor covering can be applied on the sound control underlayment without delay allowing the finished floor construction to be completed quickly as compared to conventional floor constructions.

In the embodiments described above, the sound control underlayment 16 is applied to the subfloor with the adhesive layer 32 facing down so that the adhesive layer bonds the sound control underlayment 16 to the subfloor. The sound control underlayment 16 however, does not need to be installed in this orientation.

If desired, the sound control underlayment 16 can be applied to the subfloor with the adhesive layer facing up so that the sound control underlayment floats on the subfloor and provides an upper adhesive layer 32 facilitating installation of the floor covering.

For example, FIG. 3 shows a floor construction 210 comprising a wood subfloor 112 supported by joists J. The sound control underlayment 16 overlies the upper unfinished floor surface 114 of the subfloor 112 with the adhesive layer 32 of the sound control underlayment 16 facing up. A vinyl floor covering 18 overlies and is adhered to the sound control underlayment 16.

In above embodiments, the sound control underlayment 16 is described as having a resilient layer formed of rubber material with 94% recycled rubber content. Those of skill in the art will appreciate that the percentage content of recycled rubber may be varied. Also, as mentioned above other suitable resilient materials may be employed.

In above embodiments, the sound control underlayment 16 is described as having a thickness of 2 mm. Those of skill in the art will appreciate that the thickness of the sound control underlayment may be varied depending on the particular floor construction environment in which the sound control underlayment is being installed. For example, the thickness of the sound control underlayment may be in the range of 1 mm to 15 mm. As will be appreciated, as the thickness of the sound control underlayment increases, during manufacture, the length of the sound control underlayment rolled into sub-rolls is reduced.

Depending on floor construction environment (i.e. heavy commercial to light commercial to residential), the average dynamic stiffness and hardness of the sound control underlayment may be varied. The average dynamic stiffness of the sound control underlayment 16 is typically in the range of from 10 MN/m³ to 200 MN/m³. For example, in heavy commercial environments, the sound control underlayment may have an average dynamic stiffness of 157 MN/m³ and a type A harness of 40 durometer. In moderate commercial environments, the sound control underlayment may have an average dynamic stiffness of 105 MN/m³ and a type A harness of 40 durometer. In light commercial/residential environments, the sound control underlayment may have an average dynamic stiffness in the range of 64 MN/m³ to 54 MN/m³ and a type A harness of 40 or 50 durometer.

In the above embodiments, the sound control underlayment is described as having an adhesive layer on one major surface of the resilient layer that is either in direct contact with the subfloor or the floor covering. If desired, adhesive layers may be laminated on or otherwise applied to opposed major surfaces of the resilient layer so that adhesive layers are in direct contact with both the subfloor and the floor covering.

Those of skill in the art will appreciate that the sound control underlayment can also act as a waterproof barrier between the subfloor and the floor covering.

Although embodiments have been described above and are shown in the accompanying drawings, it will be appreciated by those skilled in the art that variations and modifications may be made without departing from the scope defined by the appended claims, and the scope of the claims should be given the broadest interpretation consistent with the specification as a whole. 

What is claimed is:
 1. A sound control underlayment for disposition between an unfinished floor surface and a floor covering comprising a generally flat layer formed of resilient material and an adhesive layer on at least one major surface of the flat layer.
 2. The sound control underlayment of claim 1, wherein the resilient material is rubber material.
 3. The sound control underlayment of claim 2, wherein the rubber material comprises recycled rubber content.
 4. The sound control underlayment of claim 1, wherein the adhesive layer is a pressure sensitive adhesive layer.
 5. The sound control underlayment of claim 1, having a thickness in the range of 1 mm to 25 mm.
 6. The sound control underlayment of claim 1, having an average dynamic stiffness in the range of 10 MN/m³ to 200 MN/m³.
 7. The sound control underlayment of claim 1, wherein an adhesive layer is on opposed major surfaces of the flat layer.
 8. A floor construction comprising: a subfloor having an upper unfinished floor surface; a floor covering having an upper finished floor surface; and a sound control underlayment interposed between the subfloor and the floor covering, the sound control underlayment comprising a generally flat layer formed of resilient material and an adhesive layer on at least one major surface of the resilient layer.
 9. The floor construction of claim 8, wherein the adhesive layer is in contact with said unfinished floor surface.
 10. The floor construction of claim 8, wherein the adhesive layer is in contact with said floor covering.
 11. The floor construction of claim 8, wherein an adhesive layer is on opposed major surfaces of the resilient layer and the adhesive layers are in contact with both the unfinished floor surface and the floor covering.
 12. The floor construction of claim 8, wherein the subfloor is one of a concrete slab, a wood subfloor and an oriented strand board subfloor.
 13. The floor construction of claim 8, wherein the floor covering is one of a ceramic tile floor covering, a vinyl plank, tile or sheet floor covering, a stone floor covering, an engineered wood floor covering, a laminate floor covering and a wood floor covering.
 14. The floor construction of claim 8, wherein the resilient material is rubber material.
 15. The floor construction of claim 14, wherein the rubber material comprises recycled rubber content.
 16. The floor construction of claim 8, wherein the adhesive layer is a pressure sensitive adhesive layer.
 17. The floor construction of claim 8, wherein the sound control underlayment has a thickness in the range of 1 mm to 25 mm.
 18. The floor construction of claim 8, wherein the sound control underlayment has an average dynamic stiffness in the range of 10 MN/m³ to 200 M N/m³.
 19. A sound control underlayment having opposed major unfinished floor and floor covering contact surfaces for disposition between an unfinished floor surface and a floor covering, the sound control underlayment comprising a resilient layer and an adhesive layer on at least one major surface of said resilient layer.
 20. The sound control underlayment of claim 19, wherein the resilient layer is formed of rubber material.
 21. The sound control underlayment of claim 20, wherein the rubber material comprises recycled rubber content.
 22. The sound control underlayment of claim 19, wherein the adhesive layer is a pressure sensitive adhesive layer.
 23. The sound control underlayment of claim 19, having a thickness in the range of 1 mm to 25 mm.
 24. The sound control underlayment of claim 19, having an average dynamic stiffness in the range of 10 MN/m³ to 200 MN/m³.
 25. The sound control underlayment of claim 19, wherein an adhesive layer is on opposed major surfaces of the resilient layer.
 26. A floor construction comprising: a subfloor having an upper unfinished floor surface; a floor covering having an upper finished floor surface; and the sound control underlayment of claim 19 interposed between the subfloor and the floor covering. 